Arturo Serna

Biography

Venezuelan / British conductor Arturo Serna holds a dynamic career as a conductor, cellist and teacher. He is a second generation from El Sistema in Venezuela and was guided in his beginnings by his mother, a violinist member of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. He pursued further studies in France, Switzerland and England. Arturo also holds a Masters in Conducting with Distinction from the University of Surrey.

As a conductor, Arturo is in charge of the Exeter Symphony Orchestra, Dorset County Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the University of Bath and is in great demand as guest conductor of several orchestras, choral societies and musical theatre productions. Some ensembles he has been invited to conduct include the Haslemere Music Society, Sherborne Community Orchestra, Yeovil Community Orchestra, Bruton Choral Society, and Wincanton Youth Theatre amongst others.

As a cellist, Arturo has performed as a chamber musician and soloist across the Americas and Europe. He has won many prizes and awards during his career, such as the Eversley Award, Montague Scholarship, Carigest Award and Special Prize at the Carlos Prieto Latin-American Cello Competition, awarded by Maestro Aldo Parisot. Arturo has recorded for television and radio and has collaborated in many recording projects for other fellow musicians and film music.

Arturo teaches at Guildhall Young Artists Taunton, Sherborne Girls, King’s Bruton, Hazlegrove, Leweston and Perrott Hill Schools. Many of his former pupils are now studying at world-class conservatoires and universities and play active roles in the music profession.